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Area baseball players use summer to get used to new bats

By Adam Dunivan Sports Writer

Posted:
07/24/2011 10:20:17 PM MDT

Mike Medina had heard all the rumors.

Say goodbye to hitting home runs, he was told by many.

These bats are dead, others chimed.

Well, Medina and the rest of his teammates at Fossil Ridge High School have had all summer to get acclimated with the BBCOR bats that will be fully required come spring, and it seems there is now a more general feeling amongst the majority: it's just another bat.

It's about the swing even more so, and that's what coaches and players alike turned their attention to during this recent trial period.

0725 SPO FRHS baseball FILE-srs.jpg Fossil Ridge High School's Logan Waterland lays down a sacrifice bunt in a game played earlier this summer at Brock Field. Players around the area used the summer to get acquainted with the BBCOR bats that will be used in all high school games this spring, and most of them say it will help develop their swing.
(
Steve Stoner
)

See, Medina isn't much of a home run hitter anyway -- and with the spacious Fossil Ridge field that he calls home, it has never been easy to hit a 'bomb'. That doesn't mean he wasn't disappointed, however, when the measure was passed to eliminate traditional metal bats and implement the BBCOR models -- which are said to have a 10-15 percent decrease in bounce off the barrel.

"I was a little bummed," he said. "You hear the rumors about the ball not travelling as far. We have probably one of the biggest fields in the state as it is.

"I really think it'll be good, though. I think it will develop better hitters, and the guys who go for the line drives and base hits are going to be seen more. The guys who always go for the long ball are going to be disappointed."

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For Medina and the like, the summer season was a good time to transition. While most teams around Loveland competed in the Northern Colorado Baseball League, some opted to play a secondary Legion schedule, where traditional metal sticks are allowed.

"You have just got to be a hitter to be able to use them," said Evens, who ended as one of the Mountain Lions' top batters through the summer. "I think we needed this time to get used to it. I'm really glad we're not jumping right into it during the spring."

There was some getting used to, but for many players changes in stance or swing also needed to transpire in order to make the most out of the composite bats. Medina said he used to crouch a little bit but now stands taller in the batter's box in order to be able to put more barrel on the top half of the baseball. For Evens, he closed his stance -- "I definitely wouldn't swing a BBCOR bat with an open stance," he added.

Medina said his coaches did a good job of helping him understand what kinds of things needed to change, but that it was mostly on each individual to figure out how to reach that conclusion.

Meanwhile, coaches also seemed to stress the importance of fundamental and situational baseball. Players are anticipating more movement on the basepaths and more hitting to spots to get runners to move up even one base.

"The game is probably more exciting with metal bats, but these bats will be conducive to the pure baseball hitter," Thompson Valley coach Steve Gerrard said. "For us, we really worked on situational hitting. Say a guy is on third base, just making sure you get that ball to the outfield to get him home. Hit and run, bunt and run -- a lot of the things we do when we're playing with wood bats, that's what we're going to do more of in the spring.

"It will be more team-type baseball, doing all it takes together in pushing those runs across."

"You're not going to see a ton of cheap hits," TVHS senior-to-be Jeremy White said. "You're not going to see a pop fly get out for a home run. The strategy is going to be more important." Luckily for the local players, the summer proved a fine battleground for training.

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